Philip Pape 0:00

Hello everyone , welcome to a special Saturday bonus listener Q&A for Wits and Waits . Today I'm answering one of the first questions that came in under our new simplified question form on the website . So this is where you can submit a question . I will answer it on the podcast . I will also reply to you directly by email with a personalized answer and you just have to go to witsandwaitscom slash question to submit . That Link will also be in the show notes . All right , today's question Nancy asked .

Philip Pape 0:31

Google says muscle weighs the same as body fat . Is this true ? So , first of all , nancy , again thank you for using my new form and sending in the question . I love this question because it's going to help us clear up a misconception and the simple answer to the literal question , does muscle weigh the same as body fat is yes , but it's a bit of tongue in cheek , a bit of sarcasm , so forgive me for a second . Because a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat , because a pound is a pound , right , whether it's a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks or a pound of lean tissue versus fat .

Philip Pape 1:06

But I really think what you're asking is not just the weight itself . What you're really curious about is the difference between muscle and fat in terms of their properties , especially their density , and how they affect how you look , how they affect your body composition . And that's where it gets interesting . And really the question does have a lot of criticality with everything we talk about on this show , because muscle is denser than fat . Muscle is denser than fat , and I think you've heard that . But what does that mean ? Well , let's look at the numbers first . Muscle has a density of about 1.06 grams per milliliter . Fat is 0.9 grams per milliliter , so 1.06 versus 0.9 , which means muscle is about 18% less volume . Okay , a pound of muscle will take up 18% less volume than a pound of fat , so of course they weigh the same , but the muscle's taking up less space . So muscle that took up all the same space would actually weigh more , if that's what we're asking . So imagine you had a pound of muscle and a pound of fat sitting side by side . The muscle is just going to look smaller and more compact and the fat's going to be larger and fluffier , and that is a very important difference in density . That causes changes in your body shape and your body measurements , even when there's no change on the scale , and this is why we talk about the scale itself being highly misleading , especially if you were a newer lifter or even an intermediate lifter who's finally starting to make more progress . This is where I help my clients navigate through what looks like weight plateaus or weight or fat loss plateaus , but they're actually something very magical going on Because , let's say , you're working hard in the gym , you're training , you're progressing , you're lifting , you're getting stronger and you're eating a reasonably high protein diet by high , I mean 0.7 to 1 grams per pound , like we recommend and you could be losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time , like we recommend .

Philip Pape 3:02

And you could be losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time , which we call body recomp , body recomposition . You might be doing this while maintaining your weight on purpose , but you also may be doing it while trying to lose weight . And then , all of a sudden , it seems like you're stalling out and the scale , like , stays the same for a few days , or even weeks , or even goes up . But because muscle is dense , right , right , your body could be improving regardless and getting leaner , your waist might shrink , your clothes might fit better , your definition improves , and yet the scale is staying the same , maybe even going up , and that's why it's so important to look at the whole thing . This is why we emphasize body composition over weight , even though it's very important to track the weight and your more importantly importantly trend of that weight over time in terms of like , are you in the deficit or surplus you want to be ? Um , body fat or body composition is really important .

Philip Pape 3:57

Now , I don't like to overemphasize body fat percentage itself as a number . I've talked about that before , about the errors in DEXA scans and bio impedance uh , bioelectrical impedance and any , any form of body fat measurements Heck , even calipers can be a little bit off . I like just good old-fashioned tape measurements and progress photos and how you look and feel and how you perform . Right , just putting those together and in fact , you can calculate a body fat trend using just the measurements . Now , muscle itself is a game changer . For that very reason , I recently did an episode I think it was 257 , on why a lot of people should actually be gaining weight .

Philip Pape 4:37

If you've never gained weight to build muscle and you always are trying to cut , that could be the thing holding you back , not just for how you look , but even for your health , because , compared to fat , muscles much more metabolically active . Each pound of muscle burns up to nine calories per day , but conservatively four to seven , and fat burns around two calories per day . So it's still active , but less so , and so it might not seem like a lot , but when you gain muscle , it's going to boost your resting metabolic rate . You're going to burn more calories throughout the day and on top of that , if you can walk around heavier on the scale anyway , that further increases your metabolism . Not to mention all the benefits we go on about here , like insulin sensitivity and bone density , and your physical performance , your function , your strength . It's a win across the board . So , nancy , thank you for the question because it led to a longer answer than I anticipated , but it's important . First of all , you're right , muscle does weigh the same as fat Google will tell you that but the difference is they have different densities . A pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat , and that is why we want to focus on building muscle and improving body composition far more than worrying about the number on the scale . If you're listening now , you're wondering how to track these changes or how to start building more muscle .

Philip Pape 5:50

Reach out and ask me a question . I have lots of ways to connect with me , but for today's episode I want you to go to witsandweightscom slash question and just throw a question in there . I will answer it on the podcast if you'd like . If you don't want me to just say , hey , this is just a personal question for you , that's fine and thank you again for sending it in . If anybody has questions about fitness , nutrition , body composition , training , mindset , I want to answer it on the show . So just go to witsandweightscom slash question . All right , until our next full episode , keep lifting , keep learning . Remember that these are all different tools and when you understand how they work , you can make the most of them .